Chapter 1

Emily looked in the mirror as she finished getting ready for her day at John Adams High School.

“Well, this is as good as it’s going to get, I suppose,” she thought.

Like a lot of girls, Emily was never completely satisfied with her appearance. She thought she was too short and that her hair was straight and stringy. She wished she were thin like a model but she guessed everybody wished that. Her glasses were the newest style and some girls looked attractive in them; Emily thought she just looked nerdy.

Mrs. Hudson, Emily’s mom, always encouraged her to have confidence in her appearance. She bought Emily nice clothes and shoes but it never seemed to do the trick.

“The secret,” Mrs. Hudson said, “is to feel pretty from the inside.”

Emily supposed her mom was right but she never quite believed it.

Most days, Emily couldn’t decide which was the worst problem in her life – her appearance or high school. Ever since she moved up from middle school, the work had gotten much harder. She was still good at art, her favorite class, and her teacher always complimented her on her drawings. But Emily had trouble learning the other subjects as quickly as her classmates. She couldn’t read fast enough and she never remembered what her teacher said quite as well as the others.

As Emily got on the bus, she remembered that today was Science class, one of the toughest for her. A few girls from her Science class were sitting in the back and chatting, one just loud enough for Emily to hear her.

“Today we’re breaking up into lab groups in Science,” said Ashley, the leader of the group.

She looked straight at Emily as she added, “Wow, I hope I get some smart partners. It’s SO much harder to get a good grade when you get stuck with someone who doesn’t have a clue!”

Emily’s cheeks turned red as she looked down at the floor while the other girls laughed.

Sure enough, when it was time for Science class, the first thing the teacher, Mr. Wilder, did was to assign lab groups.

“OK, I don’t want any complaining. You get what you get and you don’t get upset.”

Everybody’s eyes rolled. Mr. Wilder started picking groups and when he got to Emily, she held her breath. She knew the wrong partners could make her life miserable.

“Emily, I’d like you to work with Marcus, Hannah and Carlos. You can gather at the last table on the right side.”

Emily and her group moved to their place and they all eyed each other. She didn’t know any of them well although she knew enough about each of them to make her uncomfortable.

Marcus was the best student in Science. In fact, he was at the top of a lot of his classes and had won an award for a speech he had made at an assembly during Black History Month.

Hannah was one of the fastest runners on the track team and her trophies were in the display case in the lobby. She was also president of the Asian-American Club and Emily remembered seeing a play they had organized to show different parts of their culture. Emily thought it was really interesting but she remembered that other students made rude comments about it. She didn’t understand why.

Carlos had just moved to the United States from Mexico. He didn’t say too much and Emily thought it was because he hadn’t learned English well enough yet. She sometimes heard people making fun of his accent and the way he used the wrong words in his sentences. Still, he was polite but quiet so Emily wasn’t sure what to think of him.

They settled down into their places. The lab assignment was on the table and they all read it in silence. They had to find what vitamins and minerals were in different kinds of foods. When it looked like they’d finished reading, Marcus was the first to speak up.

“Well,” he said, “this doesn’t look that bad.”

Hannah laughed. “Ha! Easy for you to say, Marcus. You’re a Science genius. Not me.”

Carlos chimed in. “Not me either. It’s hard for me to understand. I’m still learning regular English. Forget about Science English!”

Everyone laughed. They all looked towards Emily and she felt her cheeks burn. She barely managed a quiet smile and the conversation moved on.

Emily was relieved when it all ended and she was able to pack up her books and head home.

As Emily walked in the door, she saw chocolate chip cookies that her mom had left on the kitchen table. She threw her backpack on the floor, poured herself something to drink and sat down to eat and forget about her miserable Science class.

“Did you wash your hands?” Mom said as she came into the kitchen.

“Oh Mom!” Emily got up and gave her hands a quick rinse in the sink.

“With soap please!” her mom laughed as she sat down to talk with Emily about her day. It was nice to have mom working from home because she got to spend some extra time chatting. Emily thought her mother was pretty cool – for an old person.

“So how did everything go today?” Mom asked.

Emily sat back down. She thought about just answering, “Fine,” but really wanted to talk about how bothered she was by what had happened on the bus. So she told her mom about the group of girls and how they had looked directly at her when they talked about people who “don’t have a clue.” Then she described her lab group.

“They seem nice enough, Mom, but they’re all way smarter than I am! Marcus is probably going to get the Science award! Hannah is such a star that the teacher will just give her a good grade because he likes her. I don’t know Carlos that well but I’m sure he’ll do OK – at least better than I will! I hate Science and I just hate school. It’s so hard!”

Emily’s mom didn’t quite know what to say. She assured Emily that she would do fine which wasn’t helpful at all. She didn’t really have much more time to talk because she still had work to do at her desk.

“We’ll get back to this later, Em. I promise.”

Emily nodded and finished her snack in misery.

Chapter 2

In Science class the next day, Emily sat down with her group and tried to pay close attention to what was happening. Marcus, Hannah and Carlos chatted about the lab project and Emily, as usual, had a hard time following them.

“So what do you think about what we’ve got so far, Emily?” said Marcus, trying to include her in the conversation.

Emily just sat and mumbled, “Yeah. Good.”

Hannah and Carlos joined in to make Emily feel part of the group.

“Emily, do you think we should be doing anything different with these foods? Do you have some other ideas?” said Carlos.

The group looked expectantly in her direction. They were all smiling and she knew they were encouraging her to participate. She stared back at them as she felt tears forming in her eyes.

“I just can’t do this!” she finally burst out. “I’m not good at Science at all. I’m afraid I’m going to drag down the whole group because I won’t be able to do my own fair share!”

Everyone stopped and Hannah put her hand on Emily’s arm.

“Emily,” she said softly. “People are good at different things. I’ve seen you draw in art class and you’re really good! I can’t draw anything!”

“And look at me,” said Carlos. “I’m still trying to figure out how to write a sentence in Language Arts class. I hear everything in my head in Spanish and it’s hard to change it to English!”

“Science can be tough sometimes,” added Marcus. “But doing labs is different. It’s kind of fun. You might have an easier time with them.”

Emily just stared at her classmates, not believing that they had trouble learning some things too.

“So see, Emily?” said Hannah. “We’re all here to help each other. If we can do the Science more easily than you, we’ll just work together to help you understand it. Is that OK with you?”

“In fact,” said Marcus. “I just thought of a way you could really help with this lab. You’re a good artist and we could use a cool drawing to show the results of our project.”

Emily couldn’t believe her ears. She hadn’t felt this good in school for a long time.

At the end of the day, Emily walked back to her locker feeling much more hopeful about Science. As she started down the hall, she noticed the same group of girls who had made nasty comments about her on the bus. They were the prettiest and most popular girls at school.

Normally, it would bother her to see the girls but she felt too happy right now. She did notice, though, that they were gathered near her locker, giggling and looking over her way. They seemed to be waiting and watching her every move.

“What’s that all about?” Emily thought. “They never pay attention to me at all.”

Emily opened her locker and as she took out her things, a note fell onto the floor. She picked it up and read it.

She couldn’t believe her eyes. It was a note from Luke Brady, the cutest boy in the school. He was captain of the basketball team and the smartest boy in his class. Everyone wanted to be his friend, including Emily. He had always been polite to her when they had shared a class together now and then, but he’d never had a real conversation with her. And now, here was a note from him.

“Dear Emily, I’ve liked being in class with you but we’ve never had a chance to get to know each other. I wonder if you’d like to come to the Spring dance with me. If you do, I’ll pick you up that night at your house. Don’t tell anybody we’re going together because I don’t want to make anyone mad that I’m taking somebody new.”

Emily couldn’t believe her eyes. She read the note five times and then put it in her pocket. She could barely breathe.

Chapter 3

The next week flew by and during Science class, Emily started to feel more comfortable. Marcus, Hannah and Carlos worked side by side with her and tried to explain when Emily got stuck. Emily started to think of them not only as her lab partners but her friends.

One day, on the way out of class, Hannah brought up the Spring dance.

“Are you planning to go?” she asked Emily.

Emily hesitated since Luke had asked in his note that she not tell anyone. But she was dying to tell someone about Luke’s invitation.

“Can you keep a secret?” she whispered to Hannah.

“Of course,” Hannah answered.

“Luke Brady asked me to the dance!” she burst out.

While Hannah listened, Emily told her all about the note and Luke’s asking that she keep it a secret. Hannah was somewhat uncomfortable about the story because it didn’t make much sense to her. She knew Luke hung around with a completely different crowd. Why would he pick out Emily for the dance? He hardly knew her at all.

“But what do I know?” Hannah thought. “Maybe there’s something about Emily that Luke likes. She’s really excited and that’s what counts.”

Hannah asked Emily if she had thought about what dress she was going to wear.

“Wow…uh….no,” she said. “I was so excited that I guess I just wasn’t thinking straight.”

Hannah immediately took charge.

“Well, we’re going to have to go shopping right away,“ she announced. “Tomorrow after school – be ready!”

The following day, Hannah and Emily took the bus to the mall to do some scouting for dresses. They had fun going in and out of stores and trying on every color dress they could find, some with sequins and some with spaghetti straps. Emily was a little self-conscious because she had never been asked to a dance before. But she and Hannah talked and laughed as they shopped and ended up having a great time. Since Hannah was going to the dance too, they both finally settled on dresses they’d ask their parents to buy. Emily was left trying to figure out how to tell her mom and dad.

When she got home, her mother and father were both in the kitchen. She had told her mom she’d be late but not exactly where she was going.

“Hi Emily. You’re a little later than I thought. Where did you go?”

Emily looked at them both, knowing she’d have to explain the whole story.

“Well, I’ve been invited to the dance and I went with Hannah to look for a dress.”

“You were? And this is the first time you’re telling us?” her dad asked, somewhat surprised.

“Uh…it’s a long story,” said Emily. And she told them about Luke Brady and his note.

“I’ll be honest, Emily,” said her dad. “This sounds a little odd. A secret note? A boy you barely know?”

“Sure, Dad,” Emily answered in a huff. “I guess it’s impossible that a popular boy could ever ask me out! I mean, who do I think I am?!?”

“Now, Emily,” her mom interrupted. “That’s not what Dad meant at all. It’s just that we don’t know Luke and you’ve never mentioned him.”

“Well, that’s because we just know each other from being in the same class. I never knew that he liked me and now I do! What’s wrong with that?”

Emily’s mom and dad looked at each other. They didn’t want to put a damper on Emily’s enthusiasm but they were pretty uncomfortable.

“How about this,” Mom said. “I’ll give Mrs. Brady a call. I know her from the PTA and we can just talk about details for picking you up and dropping you off.”

“Great, Mom,” sulked Emily. “Make me feel like a real baby!”

Mom sighed. “All right, all right. I’m sure it will be fine. The Bradys are a nice family and we’ll get to meet Luke at our house that night. We’re excited for you, Emily, and we just want you to have a nice time.”

Emily relaxed and gave her mom and dad a hug.

“Now,” said Mom smiling. “Do we have a dress to go and buy?”

Chapter 4

The day before the dance, Emily was on her way to class. Just as she was about to turn a corner in the hallway, she heard her name mentioned. Ashley and her friends were talking and giggling. Emily stopped in her tracks and listened from where they couldn’t see her.

“I can’t wait to see her face when Luke doesn’t show up,” laughed Ashley. “Planting that note in her locker was the best idea we’ve had in a while.”

“She really thought it was from Luke! She’s so clueless!” said another girl. “We got lucky when she left her locker open that day.”

“Yeah” said Ashley. “What a loser.”

Emily stood there in shock and tears burned her eyes. She turned to run and bumped right into Hannah who was walking to class too.

“Emily,” asked Hannah, surprised to see her so upset. “What happened?”

Emily couldn’t answer so Hannah took her by the hand and led her to an empty classroom. Emily couldn’t hold back her tears, and through choking sobs, told Hannah what happened.

“I’m beyond furious!” Hannah said. “What a mean and lousy thing to do!”

“It’s because I’m so stupid!” Emily sobbed. “Everyone thought there was something wrong about that note. You. My parents. They knew that a handsome guy would never ask a loser like me to the dance!”

Just then, Carlos and Marcus walked by the empty classroom and heard their voices. Hannah filled them in and they shared her outrage.

“Well, we’re going to get some…what do you call it….revenge!” said Carlos.

Emily wiped her eyes.

“There’s nothing we can do. I’ll just be the joke of the school for a while,” she sniffed.

“Look,” said Marcus. “Let’s get to class now before we’re late. We’ll get together at lunch and come up with a plan.”

They all walked to the cafeteria together after class. As they sat down at the table, Emily appreciated her new friends.

“Well, at least something good has come out of this,” she thought.

“So let’s figure out how to get back at these girls,” said Carlos. “I say we go to the principal. They need to get retention.”

They all laughed.

“Detention, Carlos.” Hannah corrected him.

“Yeah, that,” said Carlos laughing along.

“But you know what will happen, Carlos,” said Marcus. “They’ll say they didn’t do it. And we’ll have no proof. Even if Emily has the note, you can’t tell whose handwriting it is.”

“True,” said Hannah. “How about we just confront them? We’ll go right up to them and tell them what a mean and awful thing they did.”

“They won’t care,” said Emily. “That’s who they are. They just love to make people feel small. I’ll bet they’ll just laugh and walk away.”

They fell silent, each one trying to come up with another idea. Finally, Marcus spoke up.

“Well, what about if we all go to the dance together?” he suggested. “We’ll just show those girls that Emily has lots of friends and she doesn’t need Luke Brady or Ashley or any of them for that matter.”

Everyone hesitated and Emily was the first to speak up.

“I’m just so uncomfortable about going to anything social,” she said. “I thought if I was going with Luke, everyone would be looking at him and not me. And that would be fine.”

“Don’t feel alone, Emily,” said Hannah. “I have plenty of people making comments about me because I’m Asian. I try to brush them off but it hurts. Believe me, I don’t go to dances or parties very often because who needs more of that?”

Carlos then spoke up.

“Hannah and Emily aren’t the only ones who don’t like to go out much,” said Carlos. “I always feel embarrassed because of my English and I can’t keep up when people are talking. It’s easier to stay home.”

“Well, we all have a lot in common then,” said Marcus. “I have to work to help out with the bills. My dad and I live alone and he needs me, so I don’t really have time to go out too often.”

Emily was surprised. Even Marcus, who was so popular, didn’t have much of a social life. They were all so different but they had a lot in common.

Hannah jumped in to say exactly what Emily was thinking.

“We’re not alike in a lot of ways,” she said. “But somehow that makes us closer. We can understand each other. I think we’d have a great time if we all went to the dance together!”

They all agreed and started making plans. Emily told her parents about the situation with Luke and her friends’ idea to go together to the dance instead. Emily’s parents were furious at first about the mean girls’ trick on Emily. But they could see how the four new friends had hit on a great solution. In fact, Emily’s dad offered to drive them to the dance and to take them all out for ice cream afterwards.

The next evening, Emily, Marcus, Hannah and Carlos walked proudly into the dance together. When Ashley and her friends saw them, they looked puzzled and more than a little disappointed.

Luke Brady was nowhere to be seen. Emily overheard that he had a big basketball tournament that weekend and didn’t want to tire himself out by going to the dance.

“This is fun,” said Carlos, smiling as they all danced together.

They all agreed and Emily saw that other kids were noticing them, people who never glanced their way before. Maybe it was because they looked so happy.